


don't you worry (i can handle it)

by dancinghopper



Series: sick of losing soulmates (cheryl + toni) [2]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, enjoy, if u like betty and jughead u should probably not read this, mostly me getting my anger out about betty blackmailing cheryl, toni yells at them a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 05:56:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13968795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancinghopper/pseuds/dancinghopper
Summary: so.... toni has to be held back from punching betty when she finds out about the blackmail business, right?





	don't you worry (i can handle it)

**Author's Note:**

> this was a prompt of sorts from cheryltxpaz on tumblr !! mostly we just wanted toni to yell at betty but somehow this turned into a 1000 words
> 
> enjoy !!
> 
> (also i know im not being clever by pointing out that jughead speaks like hes on the cw but ,,,, whatever)

Toni asks about the thumb drive as she’s picking Cheryl up for their fourth date. She’s tossing Cheryl’s keys up and down in her hand while she waits for her to finish zipping up her boots, and the question makes Cheryl’s blood go cold.

“It’s nothing,” says Cheryl, and swipes her hair behind her ear, “Just school work.”

Toni hands the key ring back with the USB still firmly attached, and doesn’t ask again.

* * *

“Hey, Cheryl?”

Toni’s looking down at her all concerned like, so she hastily pockets her keys.

“Mm?”

“You’d tell me if there was something wrong, right?”

Cheryl smiles at her, genuine and soft. She’s still not used to the way Toni _cares_.

“Of course,” she murmurs, and takes Toni’s hand. Her girlfriend looks unconvinced.

“I’m _fine_ ,” she assures her, stroking her thumb across the reminders written on Toni’s skin. _History assignment. Resumes. Milk._

Toni chews on her lip. “Promise?” 

“Promise.”

* * *

Cheryl wakes with a start, hand clutching at her throat as her breaths come out in haggard pants, the other wrapped securely in unfamiliar bedsheets. 

_Cheryl?_

Something warm wraps around her, smoothing her hair back and pulling her hand from her throat.

_Cheryl, breathe._

**_Breathe_ ** _, Cheryl._

An order, this time. She forces her lungs to cooperate, to slow, and the world starts slipping back into focus. Toni rubs her arm reassuringly.

 _“_ That’s it,” she soothes, and kisses her forehead gently as her breathing evens out. “I’ve got you.”

Cheryl buries her face in her neck.

“I’ve got you.”

* * *

“It’s a video of Jason,” blurts out Cheryl over breakfast, staring resolutely into her coffee. Toni pauses.

“On my keyring,” she elaborates, “Is a video of Jason. Being shot. By my dad.”

Toni’s mouth falls open. “It’s _what_?” 

Dully, Cheryl pushes the keys across the table. “You can watch it, if you want.” 

“Why would I – _Cheryl_ –” There’s shuffling and clanging before Toni sits down opposite her, nudging her chin with her thumb so she can meet Cheryl’s eyes. Her face is filled with concern.

“ _Where_ , **_how_** – have you been carrying it around all this time?”

Cheryl nods, fingers twisting together. “I didn’t want anyone to find it.”

Toni’s at an obvious loss. “How did you…?”

“Betty,” says Cheryl, and tells her the whole story.

* * *

Toni’s got a knack for moving through crowds quickly. The key is to look like you know exactly where you’re going even if you have no idea where a blonde, ponytailed _bitch_ spends her free time.

Cheryl’s around somewhere, even though she’d tried to convince her to take the day off. She’s slipped from her girlfriend’s side by pretending she needed her history textbook – Cheryl had told her, quite firmly, not to say anything about it.

 _Fuck that_ , thinks Toni, hands clenched into fists by her side. She spots Jughead at the far end of the hall and the scowl on her face deepens, because it’s his fucking fault, too.

“Toni?” he says when he sees her, instantly frowning, “What’s wrong?”

“You’re such a fucking _dick_ , Jones,” she snaps, grabbing the collar of his jacket and hauling him along with her, “Where’s Betty?”

Approximately three minutes later she shoves him inside the Blue & Gold office, startling the two girls inside.

“Sit down and shut up,” she barks at Jughead, pushing him towards his girlfriend. “Veronica, get out.”

Veronica ignores her. “What the hell is going on?”

 _Fuck it_ , thinks Toni. Cheryl trusts her, and therefore she does.

“It’s about Cheryl,” says Toni, folding her arms and watching Betty and Jughead. She sees the exact moment Jughead works it out, jaw going slack and looking over immediately at Betty, who at least has the decency to look ashamed.

Veronica must see it, too.  

“Is she okay?” she asks instantly, gaze darting cautiously between the two parties. “Toni?”

“Oh, she’s fine _now_ ,” snarks Toni. “Whether she was fine when she was _blackmailed_ to defend FP, however…”

“ _What_?”

Veronica whips her head round, staring at Betty. The blonde doesn’t move, so Veronica turns back to Toni.

“Blackmailed her with _what_?” 

Snarling, Toni folds her arms across her chest. The memory of Cheryl shaking against her the previous night is still racketing around her brain. “Yes, Betty, with what?”

Betty draws a long breath, cautiously meeting Veronica’s eye. “We, um. We kind of threatened her with the, um. With the video of her dad.”

Veronica’s jaw drops. Toni wants to hit her.

“There’s no _kind of_ about it,” she grits out, struggling and failing to keep her volume in check. “You _threatened_ and _blackmailed_ a broken girl who’d just lost half her _family_ and made her _defend_ the guy who helped her brother’s _murderer_!”

There’s silence. Veronica is looking at Betty like she doesn’t know her.

“I know,” murmurs Betty, tears in the corners of her eyes. It makes Toni want to hit her even more. “I know, I’m sorry.”

“I was just,” she looks up at the ceiling. Jughead puts his hand on her knee. “I just wanted to save FP.”  
  
Toni shakes her head. It’s not fair that she gets comforted, not when Cheryl had to go up on the stand alone.

“You’re such a narcissist, Betty,” says Toni, the venom in her voice channelling her serpent roots. “You think you’re the only one who’s had problems?”

“Hey,” snaps Jug, “C’mon, Toni. She did it for me.” 

“Yeah,” scoffs Toni, and looks him up and down. “She did it for _you_.”

“Need I remind you that _my dad_ practically looked after you for half your life?”

Jughead speaks like he’s reciting an edgy-CW script, hands curling in on themselves. Toni stands her ground.

“You’re right,” she admits, “But it doesn’t make what you and Betty did right.”

“She wouldn’t have helped us!” 

“It wasn’t her job to!”

The silence is so thick that she’s half convinced another word will break something. She breathes in through her nose, trying to calm herself down.

“I think you should go, Toni.”

It’s Veronica. She steers Toni gently towards the door with one arm.

“You’ve made your point,” she says lowly, “Let me handle the rest.”

Toni does.   

* * *

“So,” says Cheryl as she silently slides into the seat next to Toni, “Betty and Jughead apologised to me. As did Veronica, weirdly enough.”

 _Shit_ , thinks Toni.

“I _told_ you not to confront them.”

Her voice is hard. Helplessly, Toni sighs.  “I know. But they hurt you.”

Cheryl’s eyes flicker at her explanation. She pulls out her keys and starts thumbing through them until she finds the USB that started this mess.

“Will you get rid of this for me?” she asks, handing it over with shaky hands.

Toni swallows. “‘Course I will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> i wanna write more for these gals so y'all should leave me some encouragement below ;)
> 
> thanks for readin !!


End file.
